Hybrid cars.. and home charging..

  • Thread starter Thread starter vkurup
  • Start date Start date
Aztecs27 said:
Perhaps, but with all the uproar of emissionsGATE with diesel cars, I wouldn't be surprised to see an influx of more hybrid cars (with better technology) and less diesels over the next 5 years.
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Since the Government has decided that diesels are the transport of the devil I am sure more will try hybrids, however for me I shall return to petrol from my trusty and reliable frugal diesel for my next car. I can only really see hydrogen fuel cell being the true way forward.
 
Bunkermagnet said:
Since the Government has decided that diesels are the transport of the devil I am sure more will try hybrids, however for me I shall return to petrol from my trusty and reliable frugal diesel for my next car. I can only really see hydrogen fuel cell being the true way forward.
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It's annoying as I'm just looking at Q5's (second hand) and the fuel efficiency of the petrols are rubbish, which means massive fuel costs...Yet if you buy a diesel, you're open to all sorts of issues (DPF being a massive one that's bitten me with my mondeo, twice)...Yet you get MUCH better efficiency.
 
Rooter said:
Just wait for home Hydrogen fuel cells, and hydrogen cells in cars too. Its the future i tell you. Currently working on a 1mW datacenter that is going to use HFC instead of diesel generators, going to be the first of its kind.
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Luv it.. might drop that into a conversation about emerging trends... HFC is indeed one of the options, but i think elec will have a stronger infrastructure before that.
 
Aztecs27 said:
It's annoying as I'm just looking at Q5's (second hand) and the fuel efficiency of the petrols are rubbish, which means massive fuel costs...Yet if you buy a diesel, you're open to all sorts of issues (DPF being a massive one that's bitten me with my mondeo, twice)...Yet you get MUCH better efficiency.
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I drive a VW Transporter T5.5 for work, and this like my previous VW's has been faultless with the DPF. I think it is something that has in the main has been sorted much like catalytic converters have been.
 
Bunkermagnet said:
I drive a VW Transporter T5.5 for work, and this like my previous VW's has been faultless with the DPF. I think it is something that has in the main has been sorted much like catalytic converters have been.
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I had a Seat Toledo TDI (basically a Leon FR but without the price tag and alacantra seats) before my Mondeo and never had an issue....so I'm not as adverse to buying a VAG Diesel engined car...But I'd be concerned about the price of Diesel going up which would make the fuel economy of the diesel engine null and void.
 
vkurup said:
Luv it.. might drop that into a conversation about emerging trends... HFC is indeed one of the options, but i think elec will have a stronger infrastructure before that.
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In the car world? yes, but it wont be long before we see full electric cars that come with a home charge hydrogen fuel cell. Obviously Hyundai already have the ix35, but i personally see the revelations coming from better battery tech (ie LIon) coupled with low cost charging from non fossil (ie HFC at home/work)

My techie guys are super excited about the prospect of HFC within the DC though, litterally arguing about who gets to go onsite to audit it!
 
Rooter said:
In the car world? yes, but it wont be long before we see full electric cars that come with a home charge hydrogen fuel cell. Obviously Hyundai already have the ix35, but i personally see the revelations coming from better battery tech (ie LIon) coupled with low cost charging from non fossil (ie HFC at home/work)

My techie guys are super excited about the prospect of HFC within the DC though, litterally arguing about who gets to go onsite to audit it!
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I dont blame them... i would be wanting to do it myself. I thought the underwater datacentre was cool, but the HFC is more interesting..

If 2 HFC cars collide, would it be like a h-bomb going off?
 
Nissan are putting all of their eggs in the "all electric" basket, they see this as the future of cars.
The Nissan Leaf has just been released with an improved range, up from around 120 miles, to 155. Not a massive gain, but going in the right direction.
If, in a few years time, we see them with a range of 300 miles or so, I can see them really taking off, and it is only a matter of time.
The only problem I can foresee is the charge point infrastructure. There are plenty of them popping up now, but they have to be maintained properly. We have three charge points in and around Hastings, but reports coming in from Leaf owners are saying that none of them are working!!
I have sold a Leaf to a local GP who charges her car at home. Her work has her visiting local patients so she only does 30 miles or so a day. She can charge her car overnight at home and has enough juice to last her at least 3 days at a cost of pennies. She has told me that she normally hates driving, but she loves her Leaf. It has made her enjoy it again.
 
Smiffy, I can't help thinking the Leaf is a huge white elephant for Nissan. All the profits from the Qashqai must be going down the drain of the Leaf. Huge investment, rarely seen on the road. Maybe it is doing better in your part of the world but up here I see more Aston Martins than Leafs, I don't see many of them either other than if I get a free round at Close House. The Leaf is so niche and so limited and expensive.

If Nissan can move forward in the same way Tesla seem to have that would be more interesting but even then the link from Rooter shows a pretty poor range for that as well. Looks fantastic but it still needs to be practical. I should add, I would love to go electric, may go hybrid next time as a half way house, as I really want this tech to work.
 
Lord Tyrion said:
Smiffy, I can't help thinking the Leaf is a huge white elephant for Nissan. All the profits from the Qashqai must be going down the drain of the Leaf. Huge investment, rarely seen on the road. Maybe it is doing better in your part of the world.
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We don't sell that many of them. Problem is that to get anywhere half decent from this area, you have got to travel a fair bit.
I understand that they are doing well in London, because somebody can drive around all day and easily stay within battery range.
I am not the biggest Leaf fan if I'm honest. They are lovely to drive, but I hate the way Nissan are dictating how our bonuses are earned and basing everything on Leaf sales....
We had a target of 107 retail sales this quarter, but bonus money will be withheld unless we sell a certain number of Leafs.
And the number of mystery shops we get on Leaf are astronomical.
:mad:
 
I can understand them being used as a city car, that makes sense. Short journeys, infrastructure in place.

I suspect the bonuses are so linked to the Leaf because they have gambled big on it. They are pushing their gamble onto you. There will be quite a few bigwigs sweating on it working and I don't see a sign of that yet.
 
Smiffy said:
Nissan are putting all of their eggs in the "all electric" basket, they see this as the future of cars.
The Nissan Leaf has just been released with an improved range, up from around 120 miles, to 155. Not a massive gain, but going in the right direction.
If, in a few years time, we see them with a range of 300 miles or so, I can see them really taking off, and it is only a matter of time.
The only problem I can foresee is the charge point infrastructure. There are plenty of them popping up now, but they have to be maintained properly. We have three charge points in and around Hastings, but reports coming in from Leaf owners are saying that none of them are working!!
I have sold a Leaf to a local GP who charges her car at home. Her work has her visiting local patients so she only does 30 miles or so a day. She can charge her car overnight at home and has enough juice to last her at least 3 days at a cost of pennies. She has told me that she normally hates driving, but she loves her Leaf. It has made her enjoy it again.
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If they changed the styling on the leaf, it would be a good thing. IMO it is ugly and that is half the problem. leccy cars dont need to be ugly, look at Tesla. Even the prius looks better than the leaf and that is a bit damning.

Rooter said:
Interesting linkedin post buy a chap who has owned a Telsa for 2 months.. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-t...arren-poultney?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like
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Looks like a decent review.. I would love a Tesla, but the price tag even for a second hand is 50K+ so cant get it on a PCP. Hence i think the Tesla Series 3 at under 30K will be a game changer in this space. Unfortunately, it only lands in the UK in 2017.

I could do something now.. Just figured out that I am better off taking cash than company car (unless I can find something with low BIK)
 
vkurup said:
I could do something now.. Just figured out that I am better off taking cash than company car (unless I can find something with low BIK)
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Almost always take the cash, there are only a very small handfull of cars that make having a full co car worth it. The BMW Efficient Dynamics models i mentioned ages ago being one. I was paying 116 tax a month for a 27k list price 3 series.
 
Rooter said:
Almost always take the cash, there are only a very small handfull of cars that make having a full co car worth it. The BMW Efficient Dynamics models i mentioned ages ago being one. I was paying 116 tax a month for a 27k list price 3 series.
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This is where the Outlander PHEV worked well... BIK is 5% against the usual 20+% for a Beemer..
 
The pro-electric mob always quote figures based on electricity being generated by wind power or solar power. The reality is it is most likely powered by gas or coal, significantly changing the green credentials.

The issue at this point is whether the gas / coal used is less polluting than petrol / diesel. I don't know the answer to that for certain but I know what I think is more likely. I don't like the holier than thou claims of the electric people, they need to be more honest. I suspect they still pollute far less than petrol / diesel though and key to this is that in pollution hot spots ie city centres, they are not polluting. The pollution occurs at the power station, not close to population centres. Build huge forests around the power stations to soak up the carbon, keep them away from population centres. All methods pollute, we have to choose the ones that pollute the least.
 
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